THE PLAYERS - THE OLIGARCHS

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Corporations

The Oligarch's goal is to privatize as much of the government as possible.
That will remove control from the people and give it to the Oligarchs.
This is the inevitable result of electing a wolf to guard the hen house.

The Oligarchs now have a stranglehold on the richest nation on Earth (America).
They have taken over, and now control, nearly the whole government.
Undoing the damage will be a monumental task, that unfortunately ...

"T-Mobile launched its bid for Sprint in 2018,
after having been rebuffed by Obama-era regulators.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere had seen President Trump's election and his appointed regulators
as a good opportunity to try again to combine, according to evidence during the trial."

We've been sold out. It couldn't be any clearer.
Brainwashed Republican Clapping Seals ...

The monopolization of America continues abated.
This quote from the article exposes the motivation:

"the brokerage industry has for years been coping with a price war
in the fight for retail investors’ dollars,
who are increasingly leaning away from picking and owning individual stocks
and more toward low-cost index funds and services that incorporate investment advice."

This will end the price war and investors will no longer benefit
from the competition that capitalism claims to supply.
But that competition only exists when backed by strong government regulation.
In our current economic climate, regulations and protections
are being stripped from the people by a government controlled by the wealthy.

"We know that many Americans are struggling.
Too often hard work is not rewarded,
and not enough is being done for workers
to adjust to the rapid pace of change in the economy.
If companies fail to recognize that the success of our system
is dependent on inclusive long-term growth,
many will raise legitimate questions
about the role of large employers in our society."

Lip service

They are starting to fear
that the pitch forks may be coming out soon;
so they give us ... lip service.

It almost sounds like a science fiction story:
The most powerful nation on Earth is brought to its knees
by a tiny group of Oligarchs
who are willing to kill huge numbers of their own people
because they want more money ...

"Blackwater founder Erik Prince, brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos,
has been trying to get the Trump administration to adopt a plan
to replace many US troops in Afghanistan with private contractors."

Remember all those conservative commenters on the internet
who used to point to poor Communist countries
and use them as proof that Capitalism is the best system?
Remember those guys? Where'd they all go?

They are hiding under their rocks,
trembling like ants confronted by an anteater,
as American Plutocrats ship all their jobs to China.

Republicans are always screaming "Capitalism!" "Let the market decide!" "Get government out of Business!"
But like conservative Christians who pretend to worship Jesus but reject all of His teachings,
Republicans prove to everyone that everything they say is a lie, by doing things like this ...

Wal-Mart was given a massive infusion of taxpayer money thanks to the Republican tax bill.
How much they will reap is probably beyond my ability to count that high.
So in a classic public relations display, they give small bonuses and raises to their employees.
Translation: after stealing a dollar ... they throw a nickel back to their workers
and then jump up and down screaming for everyone to look at how generous they are.
But even that wasn't enough for the Oligarchs.
The Waltons are closing dozens of stores all over America ...

Replace the words "Tobacco Companies" with "Big Oil"
and it should become clear that the oil companies
have ripped the playbook right out of the hands of the tobacco industry.
No number of deaths will stop them from raking in profits
even while though know, full well, that they are destroying the planet.

In light of Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook's founder) being called on the carpet in front of Congress,
this TED TALK (22:55) by Zeynep Tufekci on the selling of personal data by big corps is extremely pertinent and timely.

John Adams
“Banks have done more injury to the religion, morality, tranquility, prosperity,
and even wealth of the nation than they can have done or ever will do good.&nbsp”

Thomas Jefferson
"I believe that banking institutions
are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy
that has set the government at defiance.
The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks
and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.&nbsp"

James Madison
History records that the money changers
have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible
to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance.&nbsp"

Unfortunately, their warnings fell upon deaf ears.
The Oligarchs will continue to control the masses
by convincing them not to heed the warnings
of those who are trying to help them.

"EPA scientists determined that exposure to the pesticide
through drinking water and other sources
could lead to memory and learning problems."

Now we see the real strategy behind the GOP: it's to make everyone ...

Republican

The article mentions 3 sources:
New York Times
Washington Post
Mother Jones

What a shock that Fox News (the only trustworthy non-fake news source)
isn't among them. Who would've guessed?

Pruitt said:
"The public record lays out serious scientific concerns
and substantive process gaps in the proposal.
By reversing the previous administration’s steps
to ban one of the most widely used pesticides in the world,
we are returning to using sound science in decision-making—
rather than predetermined results."

Before Obama left office, he tried to do whatever he could to help Americans.
And he must have known that Republicans would undo all the progress
and restore things to the way the rich wanted it.
And yet he tried anyway.

For all you Trump voters: it's a little late to cry now.
You let the wolves onto the rabbit farm
and the black guy with the shotgun has left.

You're on your own now ... good luck.

UPDATE

Republicans kill Americans for profit.
I have provided evidence to support that claim many times
including the Harvard study that estimated
that the Medicaid Refusal would cost about 12,000 lives per year.

The story above about Trump stripping the E.P.A. protections from Americans
is going to kill another 12,000 Americans per year.

You people didn't need those protections anyway, did you?
You know the Big Corporations would never put profits ahead of your health, right?
Besides, like they said, after some die or become deformed
they will know which drugs to pull off the shelves ... when they get around to it.

Global Warming and Corporate Domination
are coming at us like freight trains;
yet we seem unable to wake up the millions of useful idiots&nbsp
who are making our demise possible.
I wish I had the answer.
But I have as much trouble convincing people of the facts ...

When the Oligarchy regained power (beginning around 1980)
America was dragged back into the pre-enlightened era.
The voters have the power ... but not the intellect to defend themselves.

We aren't all that different from a herd of powerful water buffalo
who are preyed upon by a small group of lions.
The buffalo have the power to stop being victimized.
But they still haven't figured it out yet.
Then there are times, when they get mad enough ...
that they do

But it doesn't "trickle down" as promised
because the Wall Street people
who are already making big salaries for producing nothing tangible
(only producing more wealth for the wealthy)
get gigantic bonuses to supplement their already bulging salaries ...
while the poor fight for survival.

And contrary to Fox News propaganda,
the poor often work multiple jobs
that actually do produce tangible products.

In 2010 and 2011, mainly German and French banks in pursuit of high profits
made massive loans to Greek firms.
When the banks recognized that this was a high risk,
they were bailed out by transferring the debt
from the banks to the public institutions
like the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Now the ECB and the IMF are trying to force the Greek government
to cut pensions, education, salaries, and health care
to pay for the bail out of the banks.

The Oligarchy created and maintains the 2-party system for a reason.
If they can't have their first choice (Republican)
they will accept an alternative (Democrat).
The Democrat will be better for the people than the Republican,
but as the video explained, the Democrat knows ... for whom they work.

The Oligarchy is ensuring that you will choose
one of the two Oligarchs they deem acceptable.
Their first choice (Trump) will continue to give them everything they want.
Their second choice (Bloomberg) will throw the people some peanuts
(like gay wedding cakes and discounts on their insulin shots)
while protecting as much of the gains, the Oligarchy has made, as he possibly can.

This tiny Superbowl investment ($20 million) is peanuts
compared to how much they would stand to lose
if a Socialist like Sanders or Warren wins.

This is an extremely important point that Reich is making.
In order to effectively fight against our greatest enemy (the Oligarchy)
we must first understand our enemy
and how that enemy uses our fellow citizens against us.

Yes. You read that correctly.
Like everywhere else on Earth, the Oligarchs get real nervous
when their lies and hypocrisy are challenged.
Those students have figured out what's going on,
so the Oligarchs are making sure that they keep their mouths shut.

The U.S. has dropped out of the top 20 democracies
and is now listed in the category of "flawed democracies."
I find it amazing that we are ranked that high
considering that our country was sold out to the Plutocrats in 2010
by 5 conservative judges on the Supreme Court in the Citizens United case.

Sure, I believe that in an Islamic country that places such a high value on women
that they would actually elect a woman and give her power over them.
(even the U.S. hasn't evolved that far yet - but Pakistan has?)

One thing stands out to me above all else:
Republicans have done everything in their power since then
to ensure that it all happens again.
Think about what could possibly be behind
such seemingly suicidal actions.

There is only one answer that makes any sense
and that answer is based on the reality
that Republicans work for the rich - and ONLY - for the rich.

Think about what happened during
The Great Depression and The Great Recession.

In each case, enormous amounts of wealth were transferred
from the masses into the offshore bank accounts of the ultra rich.

The only explanation that makes sense,
is that these catastrophes are not accidents.
They are the greatest gimmick ever devised by the wealthy to get richer.
And they are preparing for another one very soon;
which is given away by the fact that they are doing everything they can
to deregulate our financial system and open the floodgates of wealth.

They don't want to fix the system because ...
it makes them too much money.

The Oligarchy is not a single group of individuals.
It is an ever-changing conglomeration of groups
who work together to pillage the masses.
Nomi Prins exposes one of the most powerful groups within the Oligarchy ...

The Bankers

The book that really filled in large pieces of the puzzle for me
was Nomi Prins' All The Presidents' Bankers.
I limit all of my Book Reports to 1 page.

From the article:
"In military circles this is known as 'psyops' – psychological operations.
(Mass propaganda that works by acting on people’s emotions)&nbsp"

It worked for Hitler, and 90 years later, it worked for Trump.
The masses must&nbsplearn to think rationally
if they are to develop the skills necessary
to defend themselves against these psychological operations.

Trump's election has added to the rise of fascism around the globe.
I've noticed that leaders are finally beginning to realize
that the world is moving closer to war.
Now, I have none other than Gorbachev himself in agreement with me;
not to mention the scientists who moved the "Doomsday" clock
to 2 minutes before midnight ...

Where my narrative differs from everyone else's,
is that I identify, what I consider to be, the true culprits ... the Oligarchs.
Without understanding the real motivation behind the push to worldwide war,
our ability to stop it shrinks to almost nil.

It is the uncontrollable greed of Oligarchs, worldwide,
that I see driving humanity toward the cliff.
The thin line of defenders braced at the edge (the Rationalists)
cannot withstand the assault alone.
We must find a way to get the herd to understand
what is really going on, who is behind it, and why.
But even then, we still have to find a way to convince them to turn around.
And the tragic reality of that is ...

Regarding the United States,
I'll agree that Trump was not the cause - but the result.
Losing Democracy is usually a process.
Certain events contribute to that process to different degrees.
In the U.S. the biggest factor in losing our Democracy
was undoubtedly, the Citizens United Supreme Court case in 2010,
in which 5 conservative judges sold out our Democracy to the Oligarchs ...

I rail against the Oligarchy as often as I can in an attempt to warn people,
who humanity's true enemies really are.
Oligarchs have been destroying civilizations, retarding advancement,
and killing humans since we first transitioned from hunter-gatherers
until the present time, not just in America, but in every society on Earth.

If they ever make it possible to revoke Nobel Prizes
this guy should be first on the list.

The acceptance of his "trickle down" policies was most likely
the main cause of America's demise ... in only one generation.
He convinced leaders that wealth would trickle down; and he was right.
Trickle was an accurate choice of words.
He convinced leaders that government should give tax breaks and other incentives
to the rich, and that by doing so, everyone below would benefit.
Now we see that only the wealthy benefitted.

Friedman said give us a dollar and you'll be better off.
Well, we gave him a dollar and we got a nickel back.
He said, see - without us you wouldn't have that nickel
(but without him, we would still have our dollar).

and the Oligarchs constantly fight ... to get that nickel back.

They should exhume what's left of Friedman's carcass right now,
and pry that Nobel Prize out of his rigormortis fingers with a crowbar ...
and then disinfect the crowbar.

One tribe (or country) arm themselves with flags in one hand and holy books in the other
before dispersing into a neighboring tribe (or country) to kill them and take all their stuff.
The instigaters of this constant mayhem are the sole beneficiaries of it ...

One of the greatest enemies in America's history,
has always been, still is, and likely will continue to be,
for a long, long time to come ...

the American Conservative movement

What is it?

It is a marriage of Oligarchs and the politicians who serve them.
The tentacles of the Oligarchy extend everywhere, ensnaring through propaganda,
the useful idiots&nbsp&nbspthat it needs to survive in a Democracy.

These idiots are drawn mainly from the pool of:
Conservative Christians (usually found in the Republican party).
They are Christians who follow none of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The God they really worship is called "Greed."
That is why the "Prosperity Gospel" is so successful in their sect of Christianity.
The pool also includes most Southerners, white racists,
and other Americans who are easily brainwashed by Conservative propaganda.

Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich has acknowledged
that it was the government’s actions against segregated schools,
not the legalization of abortion, that enraged the Christian community.
(I would add to that ... the "Conservative" Christian community)

I like her remedies:
"Let’s start with nonpartisan elections,
the public financing of judicial campaigns ...
and merit-based selection of judges,
a system that can include nonpartisan screening commissions,
gubernatorial appointment, and retention elections ...."

This should be one of the biggest stories of our lifetime;
but the Oligarchs control the media,
and they shut that story down as quickly as possible
after only one leader went down.
Did you hear any American names?

Neither did I

Keep the sheep screaming about bathrooms
and what outrageous things Donald Trump is saying,
and they won't even notice while their pockets
continue to be picked clean.

UPDATE - 4/7/16

The release of the Panama Papers
represents one of the most powerful strikes ever
against the forces of evil (The Oligarchs).

But as this story makes clear (in its reference to China)
they control the media (and just about everything else).
They are already cutting off the lines of communication.
In America they are trying to bury, or at least minimize, the story.

The masses simply have not advanced far enough
to stand a chance against the evil that has controlled them for ...

There is only one prize left that the rich have yet to capture
before they obtain complete control ... the presidency.

After the amazing abandonment of Obama by the Democratic party
in the Midterm elections (which cost them everything),
it looks like a complete Conservative conquest of America is only 2 years away.

Today the House passed the spending bill to keep the government functioning.
It deregulated the banks and allowed individual campaign contributions to increase ...

10 FOLD!

And if the Senate rejects it, they will be the ones accused of shutting down the government.

The Oligarchy's victory over Democracy is virtually complete.
The only way this can happen in a Democracy, is with the help of the ignorant masses.
They are doing far, far more damage to America than any foreign enemy ever has.
We must increase our efforts to spread rational thinking skills.
Deprogramming brainwashed Americans will be an incredibly difficult task.
Anyone who has "Fox Friends" already knows this.

The first set of bars represents America under Truman (Dem).
The next two sets of bars should be combined because

1) there is little difference between them, and
2) both represent America under Eisenhower (Rep).

During this period, there was a slight, but unmistakable increase
in income going to the rich at the expense of everyone else.

Under presidents Kennedy and Johnson (Dems),
the advance of the rich stalled out and we experienced status quo.

Under Nixon (Rep) the rich were on the move again.
(that is only good news ... for the rich)

Carter (Dem) pretty much held the rich in check.

Then the Heavens opened up and the Lord sent the rich ... Ronald Reagan (Rep).
The graph tells the story better than any words ever could.
Bush senior (Rep) was able to keep the momentum going for the rich.

Clinton (Dem) succeeded in reversing the disaster slightly,
but with the election of Bush junior (Rep), the dam broke.
By the end of his presidency, America was in "The Great Recession."
The only things that prevented a repeat of the Great Depression
were the social programs instituted by FDR (Dem).

But Obama's election defied the consistency of the graph. Why?

For one thing, Republicans were able to prevent a recovery
by obstructing America in every way possible.
They even opened up a new tax loophole called "inversion"
to steal billions more from dwindling American tax revenues.

But that wasn't the only reason why this Democrat
was the only one who failed to stop the rich.
After the rich crashed the economy,
Obama sacrificed American taxpayers
by bailing out the giant corporations who had raided our nation's wealth.

So who is left to fight for us?

No one. We must fight for ourselves.

Democracy gives us the power to do so.
Unfortunately, many Americans have proven themselves to be
too stupid and gullible to use that power.
When any of the 99% of Americans (the non-rich) support Republicans,
they are cooperating in their own demise by voting against their own interests.
Until they develop the rational thinking skills necessary
to defend themselves from the lies of the Oligarchs,
they will continue to be ...

This is Kim Jong-un.
He inherited the people of North Korea from his father, so he is very rich.
He threatens America with destruction on a regular basis
hoping to restore the flow of extortion money that America used to pay his father.
He tested a missile that almost made it to Japan before crashing into the sea.

These guys are the Koch Brothers. They are the richest brothers in the world.
How do they use the fortune they inherited?
They invest hundreds of millions of dollars into Global Warming Denial
in order to protect and expand their oil empire.
They are more than willing to sacrifice the entire planet
to keep the money rolling in.
Why would anyone, who has more money than God,
be willing to destroy millions of lives just to get richer?

I don't know. You would have to ask them.
But before you do, make sure
that your acceptance into the witness protection program has been cleared.

The leaders of The Tea Party are willing to destroy the American economy
because the democratic process didn't go the way they wanted it to.

How much damage has been done to America by foreign threats like Kim Jong-Idiot?

Maybe a couple of senior citizens on the West Coast
got nervous and required respirators.

How much damage has been done to America from within
by powerful forces like the Koch Brothers and The Tea Party?

Incalculable

Neither the Koch Brothers nor The Tea Party have given any indication
that they intend to stop attacking America for their own gain, any time soon.

One man is old; very, very old. In fact, his expiration date has long since passed.
The other man is old; but only old.
But judging by his bulbous figure, he may exit before the older man.

Both of these men are quite well-known in America,
and both command large legions of followers.
One is a religious leader and the round one is a talk show host.
Both men are ultra conservatives.

Both of these men embarrass themselves on a regular basis.
They also embarrass other Republicans,
but because of the power they wield in that party,
there is little anyone can do about it.

Two men, are different in many ways,
but so similar in the damage they have done to our country,
because of the huge numbers of simpletons they have been able to influence.
In a Democracy, large masses of ignorant voters
can have a severe detrimental effect on that society.

So without further ado, I present two men
who never should have been on the national stage to begin with,
yet not only are they on it, they've dominated it for way too long;
two men whose damage will require decades to repair. I give you ...

Truly one of the greatest living heroes in America today ... Jamie Johnson.

His father, Jimmy Johnson, had the potential,
and even started to make an attempt,
but did not have the courage to follow through.

But all was not lost.
He would have a son, Jamie, who would fulfil that potential;
a son who did have the courage that the father lacked;
a son who would someday influence the world.

Did you notice how economist Milton Friedman blew his cookies (at: 1:05:05),
even though Jamie Johnson was bending over backwards trying to be polite?

Recently I read a story that claimed that in America,
if you earn at least $30,000 per year, you are in the top 1% globally.
Based on per capita income per country as recorded in the World Almanac,
I have no reason to doubt that figure.
So the rich (1%) might argue that the 99% should shut up
and be grateful that we have it as well as we do, here in America.

But what they are not telling you is:
if the rich weren't stealing U.S. taxpayers blind, by legalizing theft,
all Americans could be living much better than they are now.
So their argument is a Red Herring.

The One Percent hasn't only pillaged our country
but is currently spreading like a cancer all over the world.
They create jobs ... but they keep nearly all of the profits for themselves.